Sustaining in the Sky
by inida relaques
Summary: A story about the Quagmires with Hector after the Vile Village. Please read and review! This is my first fanfic. Chapter 7 is up... after 2 years!
1. Floating Over Hospitals

This story begins right where the Vile Village left off. It was written in between the Carnivorous Carnival and the Slippery Slope and has not been updated to reflect any information contained in any of the books after its publication. Therefore, it may be inaccurate to what was eventually revealed about the series or it may not.  
It was also written when I was very young and very bad. I assure you, my readers, that I am not as awful of a writer as I used to be. Take the following with a grain of salt and a knowledge that a 14 year old girl wrote this while her teachers weren't looking in a small, terrible charter school.

High at the top of the world, everyone had forgotten about the Quagmire triplets and Hector when once they had been their biggest concern.

This morning began like any other for the three. Duncan had been up early and Isadora slept in, but as usual, the small of spinach and banana pancakes woke her up. As she approached the kitchen, Isadora thought of what might be happening to the Baudelaires. Duncan walked towards Isadora and seemed to know what she was thinking. He worried about them too. They sat down at the table and cringed at the sight of the pancakes. Hector, as, usual was his bright old self. He knew something was bringing the Quadmires down, so he said, "Cheer up! Look, I made spinach banana pancakes!" The two triplets looked at each other and nodded politely at Hector, then stared down saddily at the pancakes. Duncan's mind wondered back to the first time they had met the Baudelaires. Those times were much better then now. The two sighed and slowly ate their revolting pancakes.

After breakfast it was Isadora's turn to wash the dishes. Hector and Duncan talked by the window. Well, actually, Hector talked and Duncan stared out the window. He saw a little speck, which appeared to be a car that had stopped at a quite large and strange building only half built. A baby, a girl with what seemed to be a ribbon in her hair, and a boy with glasses slowly stepped out.

"Isadora, Isadora," Duncan whispered. Isadora walked over towards the window and her face turned deadly pale. Could it be them? 


	2. Only One Triplet Left

Later that morning, the topic came up again when Hector was cleaning out the sock drawer. "What should we do?" Isadora asked, scared. "I have no idea," replied Duncan. "Well we have to do something!" yelled Isadora in frustration. "Just calm down, Isadora. I know now you feel," assured Duncan, "How about we think of possible ideas and then choose the best one." Then Isadora shot back, "That's the problem! I have no ideas!" Duncan was just about to say something back but he was interrupted by Hector; who had finished cleaning the sock drawer and needed their help sweeping the floor.

As Duncan threw the dust out the window, he noticed it landed on the sill in a neat pile. Suddenly, an idea struck his head. Why not drop letters to the Baudelaires like before? Isadora could write poems, so it would be safe if the letter accidentally got into the wrong hands. Maybe Hector could even pilot the air mobile low enough that they could pick the Baudelaires off the roof of the building. He couldn't wait to tell Isadora, but he would have to wait until Hector wasn't around. The rest of the day dragged on dreadfully slow.

Finally, at eight o' clock sharp, Hector made everyone go to bed as usual. And as usual Isadora and Duncan waited until he was asleep to get up and talk. Duncan waited for Isadora to come to his bedroom. Where is Isadora? he thought, Hector's been asleep for almost an hour! Duncan waited a little longer, until about 10, then walked over to Isadora's room. He knocked on the door softly. There was no answer. "Isadora?" he whispered then walked in slowly towards her bed. She looked like she was asleep. He pulled up the covers. There was four pillows made to look like a sleeping person! Duncan looked around and saw that the window was open. "Isadora!" he called into the night sky. 


	3. The Beginning of the End

8:00 pm:  
Isadora rolled over to look at the clock. Duncan was expecting her, but she really didn't want to see him. How can he be so calm when the Baudelaires and Count Olaf are so close? she thought, I can't let them get away! Her vision blurred as tears of fury streamed down her face. She got up and ran to the window and wiped her tears away. The hospital stood still below her. It looked peaceful to her, but really the Baudelaires were being chased by Esme Squalor and her stiletto heals. Isadora reached out helplessly as a hard lump formed in her throat. The building seemed oddly close that night. "Should I...?" she whispered. But she knew the answer. She tore out of her room into the closet and grabbed a parachute. Back in her room, she climbed on to the window sill and threw the parachute on. Her heart beat wildly. "Wait a minute!" she said to herself, "What am I doing?" Laughing, she put one foot back into the room. She took the parachute off and put it on the floor. Then she started to swing herself completely back inside. She sighed contentedly, "I was crazy!" "Yes you are." replied a deep voice. With one sharp push Isadora feel to her certain doom. 


	4. Falling Over

Duncan waited. It was nearly 11 now. Confused, he walked down the hall to his sister's room. His body swayed like one would on a boat. Every gentle breeze rocked the jail he lived on violently. During the day it was easy to ignore, with the distractions of life, but at night, alone, with nothing but his thoughts, it made him ill. He was half happy to be up, to escape the terrors of his dreams. No news ever came of the Baldulaires so he was stuck with only what his imagination come conjure. He finally reached his sister's room. It was only 4 feet away but to him to walk took forever. Before he opened the cracked door a horrible feeling of burning hot come over him, leaving him icy cold, something he had never felt in his 13 years of misery felt. Pure pain and shock. His hand frozen on the door, he stood silent. Isadora was gone. Suddenly as quick as the shock had come he fell over into her room. His stomach turned, it flipped, it did amazing feats of acrobatics. He rolled over onto his back and lifted himself up. Where did she go?  
Then he saw the window open. "Isadora..." he gasped. His mind flew quickly from accusation to accusation. She didn't! She wouldn't! She would NOT do this to me! He saw the parachute by the side of her bed. Before he knew what he was doing he was in the same position his sister was just minutes before her ending fall. Duncan jumped into the night, pulled his rip cord, and descended slowly upon the earth. 


	5. New Beginnings

Duncan floated weightlessly to the ground. But that's not how he felt. He had a big humping pit in his stomach. He shuddered. "She's an idiot!" he yelled. His outburst echoed against jagged peaks surrounding him. Suddenly it occured to him that he could had landed on one of them. He felt sort of glad. It was only a second before that thought floated away and it was replaced with millions of others. He stuggled up the side of a rock next to him. From there he could see the hospital he and Isadora had seen before. She must have gone there, where else? Duncan scanned the terrain, a steep but overall clear path lead there from near him. It would probably be an hour before he got there. His stomach growled and he grasped it and groaned. It was late enough that he was hungry again. He checked his watch, 12:30 and moved forward.

Isadora blinked her eyes open. Her vision was blurred. "Oww," she managed to say in a raspy grunt. She tried to move her head to the left. That was her second mistake of the night. She was greeted by a sharp pain through her whole body. Her nose wrinkled and she tried to look around. Her right arm was almost intact and she could move it. Yay! She shifted her gaze to the farthest she could to the left. Then, she wished she hadn't. It was tattered and bloody. It wasn't that she couldn't feel it, it was that she could feel it. White hot pain not only there but in her left leg. She didn't have a right leg for all she knew. "Help, help, Duncan, Duncan," was all she could say, raspy and dry. She licked her chapped lips and breathed out all the air she had.

"Violet?" "What!?!" Violet rolled her eyes grumpily. "I am NOT a morning person!" Sunny giggled. "I could have told you that." Klaus said smiling, "We have to be going." Violet stood up, "Where!?" Klaus replied, "Work! Where else?" Violet just grumbled. "Come on Sunny. Let's go!" Klaus picked up Sunny and tickled her. "Agg! What is up WITH YOU TWO?!?! HOW CAN YOU BE SO HAPPY! Where going to die IN THIS GOD FORSAKEN PLACE AND YOU TWO ARE GIGGLING!!" Klaus was voiceless for a second or but then he said, "What do you mean what's with us? What's with you?! If we give up it's the same as dying! If you will excuse us, we're going!"  
They both walked over to the finished part of the hospital and walked in. Violet stayed in the unfinished for almost a half an hour, then she got up and went for a walk.

Meanwhile, Hector woke up at 5:30 as usual. "Morning!" he cried happily. He walked into Isadora's room and gasped! She was gone! "Oh my good golly gosh!" He smirked and walked away. 


	6. Reunited and it Feels So Good

Duncan felt one thing and only. He was tired, but at least he was over the peaks. All he had now was a long stretch of dry, open plain. Unfortunately flat plain meant no cover, from the heat and from what ever was lurking in that hospital. The ground was covered in a thick dry, brown grass that scratched his ankles and tore through his socks. It was high enough so someone could lay in it and not be seen. He stared down at his feet and then looked up. Could it be? Someone was coming! He turned and ran towards the rocks. It was too steep and he'd be better seen at the top. He flopped down and prayed he wouldn't be found.

Violet scanned the horizon. She could have sworn she had seen someone. Then a thought popped into her head. Klaus and her were supposed to get the keys to the filing cabinets today. She turned and ran back to the hospital. "Klaus!" she said, "I'm sorry. It's just..." Klaus looked at her oddly then returned to his work. Sunny smiled though.

"Ow!" screamed Isadora but even yelling hurt horribly. "Off, off." she mumbled. It felt like a dumbbell had fell right on her tender ribs. Duncan shot up, "Isadora?! It can't be you! What happened? Who did this to you?"  
Isadora smiled weakly, "I didn't use a parachute.." Duncan exploded, "YOU WENT WITHOUT A PARACHUTE! You are such an idiot! Why would you ever do that? You had them right with you!" Her eyes watered again. "I didn't do it on purpose. I was going to jump, but then I took the parachute off and was going to come back in and then.." "What? What happened?" "I heard someone say something and then I fell." Duncan's mind snapped. "Someone pushed you!?! On the self sustaining... there was someone on there!? Right under our nose! Was it Olaf?" He paused. "Isadora?" "Duncan, I need help, now." She let out a tiny breath. "Isadora. Come on, I have to get you to the hospital." 


	7. The Staring Contest

Hey people! I realize it's been over 2 years since my last update, but I kind of rediscovered this place and I'm putting out another chapter. It's not too long, but I'll be getting back in the writing groove soon. I know you all are thrilled... yeah, right. Like any of my fans are still around. Whatever, here we go.

Duncan looked down at Isadora. He had so many questions and no answers. Right below him was the person that could answer a few, but not in her current condition. He picked her up, cradled in his arms and started the slow walk to the hospital. It was almost impossible. She easily weighted as much as he did. The only thing he would think of was that there was no way he'd be able to drop down and hide in the grass if someone came near. Finally, they reached the doors and entered into the lobby. It was cold, to put it mildly. The air smelled of disinfectant and something else not even that could mask. Around the spacious lobby, there were many rather uncomfortable looking seats, occupied by no one. The room was completely empty, save a bored looking man sitting behind a desk in the front. The man stared right at Duncan. Duncan stared right at the man. This continued for several minutes until Isadora stopped staring at the inside of her eyelids and made a little noise that made Duncan switch from staring at the man to staring at Isadora. "Um, sir, my sister, she's been in... a car accident. She's hurt very badly and needs help," Duncan said, beginning to hurt himself from carrying the weight. The man stared at Duncan. Duncan stared at the man. This continued for several minutes until Isadora made a noise again. "And?" the man said boredly. "And... And you're supposed to help us now!" Duncan yelled. "Oh," the man said, more boredly then before and then started to stare at Duncan. Duncan stared at the man. "MY SISTER IS DYING AND YOU'RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!" Duncan yelled, "NOW!" The man stopped staring at Duncan blankly and began staring annoyed. "No need to yell," he said, even more boredly than before. He took a few papers from a filing cabinet and put them on the edge of the desk. "Fill these out and we'll be happy to operate on your sister." Duncan stared at the man and then at the papers. "We- she doesn't have time for papers. She's... going... to DIE." The man sighed and said, even more impossibly bored than before, "Oh." Duncan was clearly done with this. "Get me a doctor right now!" The man stared at Duncan. "Why do you need a doctor?" he said. Duncan looked at the man one last time and carried Isadora through the door labeled 'Emergency Room'. "Wait! You can't do back there! There's paperwork to be done!" the man yelled. The frosted door closed in response. 


End file.
